Deals of the Day: Dimon Job-Split Gains Pace

Deals of the Day compiles this morning’s biggest news about mergers and acquisitions, banking, bankruptcy and more. Catch us on Twitter, @WSJMoneyBeat.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Pressures Build on Japan’s Electronics Giants:Sony and Sharp, two once-powerful electronics makers, are grappling with outside investors and fed-up creditors looking to break the cozy and insular bonds that have been a Japanese corporate hallmark. [WSJ]

Funds Eye Severn Trent Takeover: A consortium of funds is considering launching up to a $8.11 billion takeover bid for Severn Trent, potentially marking the largest takeover of a U.K. water company since the industry was privatized in 1989. [WSJ]

Dell to Miss Profit Estimates: Dell plans to report quarterly financial results on Thursday that are significantly lower than Wall Street expectations of profit, but higher-than-expected in revenue, according to a person briefed on the results. [WSJ]

General Lighting plans Saudi share sale: General Lighting Co, a Saudi Arabian company part-owned by Carlyle Group, plans to sell its shares on the Saudi stock market, paving the way for the private equity firm to exit its stake. [Reuters]

Krawcheck to Buy 85 Broads:Sallie Krawcheck, the former senior executive at BofA and Citigroup, agreed to buy 85 Broads, a global membership network of 30,000 women, according to a statement on the group’s website. [Bloomberg]

Financial Institutions

Dimon Job-Split Gains Pace: J.P. Morgan shareholder support for a resolution that would recommend splitting the CEO and chairman jobs held by James Dimon is running slightly ahead of the 40% it received last year, said a person familiar with the situation. [WSJ]

HSBC Plans Up to $3 Billion in Cost Cuts: HSBC Holdings said Wednesday it will cut around 14,000 more jobs across its global empire as part of an effort to shave up to $3 billion from its cost base and increase shareholder dividends. [WSJ]

Buyside

Hedge Funds Bet on Fannie, Freddie Rise: Some of the hedge funds that made fortunes in the housing-market crash are now betting on the recovery of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage giants. [WSJ]

Private-Equity Firms Build Instead of Buy: As competition increases for takeover targets, private-equity firms are venturing beyond corporate buyouts. For Blackstone, a new dam-construction project in Uganda is one example of the firm’s bets on sometimes unfamiliar sources of profit. [WSJ]

Greece Bulls Charge Into Corporate Bonds: Investors are returning to Greece, lured by receding fears that the country will leave the euro. Months of relative calm in Europe—and the pressure to go somewhere, anywhere, for yield in a low-interest-rate world—has investors taking another look. [WSJ]

Greece Gets Rating Recognition: What a difference a year makes. Greece’s rating upgrade by Fitch is a significant step for the country—and the euro zone. [Heard on the Street]

Companies & Industries

Ashland raises dividend, buybacks after Jana picks up stake: Chemical maker Ashland raised its quarterly dividend by more than 50% and nearly doubled its share buyback program, a month after hedge fund Jana Partners picked up a large stake. [Reuters]